The Life of John Quincy Adams and events in American History before the Civil War
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The Virginia Company lands in Virginia
The Virginia Company sent out three ships to colonize Virginia and they landed there in the spring of 1607. Expecting a land like Mexico, colonists became sorely disappointed to find a swampy land filled with disease and death (Oakes 63). -
Catherine II (Catherine the Great) becomes sole ruler of Russia
Catherine's husband Peter III was an unloving and foolish husband, creating many enemies within the Russia government. With many supporters and the help of the military, Catherine overthrew her husband and declared herself sole ruler of Russia. Peter was killed a few days later by his captors (Catherine). -
John Quincy witnesses Battle of Bunker's Hill
As a seven-year-old boy, John Quincy and his mother Abigail fled their home in Braintree, Massachusetts to hide behind a hill as the battle of Bunker's Hill took place. Seeing the carnage gave John Quincy a hate for war saying that the memory "riveted [his] abhorrence of war to [his] soul... with abhorrence of tyrants and oppressors... [who] wage war against the rights of human nature and the liberties and rightful interests of my country" (Unger 17). -
French-American alliance established
American victory at Saratoga convinced French to enter a formal alliance with America. French support helped to tie down some of the British and brought millions of dollars in aid (Oakes 202). -
Francis Dana takes John Quincy to Russia
At only fourteen years old, Dana Francis, minister to the court of Empress Catherine II in St. Petersburg, asked John Quincy to join in his mission as an interpreter and secretary (Unger 45). This proved how remarkable John Quincy was and was the beginning of his illustrious political career. -
Constitutional Convention
In May of 1787, fears of Shay's Rebellion spawning similar uprisings convinced Congress to make changes to the Articles of Confederation. A new constitution was written in order to strengthen the federal government (Unger 69). -
George Washington elected
In July of 1789 George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States. John Adams was made the nation's first vice president (Unger 71). -
Bill of Rights is ratified
Anti-federalists were very concerned about the protection of individual rights and were concerned the government would deprive people of their rights. Federalists, sharing the belief in the rights of the individual, agreed to add them in an amendment to the constitution. Thus, the Bill of Rights was added to the constitution in 1791 (Oakes 222). -
Louis XVI is executed
After four years of revolution, extremists finally overturned the monarchy and sent King Louis XVI to his death on the guillotine. Soon after, France declared war on Britain and demanded that the United States honor their treaty with France and join them at war (Unger 75). -
John Quincy made minister plenipotentiary
President George Washington demonstrated his faith in John Quincy's skills as a diplomat by promoting him from minister to minister plenipotentiary. This promotion came with a raise in pay that would allow him to marry his fiance, Louisa Catherine Johnson (Unger 102). Louisa would later be a great boon to John Quincy be helping to develop and maintain strong social ties (Unger 239). -
John Quincy is elected to the State Senate
As an attempt to silence John Quincy's campaign against corruption, Massachusetts legislature elected John Quincy to the state senate. They hoped that John Quincy would be kept too busy on the senate to bother them for the next six years. Little did they know how outspoken John Quincy was (Unger 122). -
Napoleon Bonaparte declares himself Emperor of France
In December of 1804, Napoleon demonstrated his fervor as a ruler and crowned himself "Emperor for Life". He even went so far as to abduct Pope Pius VII and brought him to Paris. He placed the crown upon his own head and placed one on his wife's too (Unger 151). -
Samuel Chase Acquitted
The House of Representatives tried to impeach Associate Justice Samuel Chase for attacking the adoption of universal white male suffrage in Maryland and charged him with high crimes and misdemeanors. John Quincy made the argument that high crimes and misdemeanors referred to criminal acts and not political statements. "In what was then the most significant defense of the First Amendment ever mounted," John Quincy "prevented the... criminalizing [of] free speech" (Unger 138). -
Napoleon retreats from Moscow
In the fall of 1812, Cossack troops attacked Frenchmen as they retreated from Moscow. The Cossacks burned every farm and village around so that the French had no shelter or food. Napoleon abandoned his troops and fled to Paris on December 3, 1812, leaving the tiny percentage of men who would survive behind (Unger 164). -
Treaty of Ghent signed
Great Britain and the United states signed a peace treaty on Christmas Eve, 1814 to end the War of 1812. The treaty, called the Treaty of Ghent, asked for the release of all prisoners and the return of all conquered territories, excluding West Florida, to America (Unger 174). -
John Quincy Inaugurated
Henry Clay, unable to win the presidency, gave his support to John Quincy (Unger 236). This deal would become known as the "corrupt bargain" as John Quincy, in just a couple days after winning the election, gave Clay the position of Secretary of State. John Quincy Adams was inaugurated as the President of the United States on the 4th of March, 1825 (Unger 239). -
The Force Bill is passed
South Carolina passed a Nullification Act saying that the tariff which reduced duties on British goods containing high amounts of cotton from the south was null and void in South Carolina. In response, Congress passed the Force Bill in compliance with President Andrew Jackson's request to be able to use military strength to enforce tariff collection and revenue laws (Unger 271). -
Slavery is abolished in the British Empire
Leading up to the passing of the act, merchants were demanding free trade as and end to the Caribbean colonies' monopolies. Many were also concerned for the welfare of slaves as well as afraid of slave uprisings. The Slavery Abolition received Royal assent on the 28th of August, 1833 and took effect in August of the next year. The act freed almost one million slaves throughout the British colonies (Henry). -
John Quincy stands against Gag Rule
The gag rule prevented the mention of slavery in congress. Outraged, John Quincy called it a violation of the Constitution and accidentally gave the rule its name by asking if he had been gagged (Unger 274). -
John Quincy defends the slaves of the ship, Amistad
The slaves of the Amistad murdered the ship's captain and demanded to be taken back to Africa. They instead ended up in America where they were imprisoned and tried at the Supreme Court. John Quincy agreed to defend them sans fees. He argued the slaves were "free men, seized against their will on their native soil,... [who then] defended themselves" (Unger 292). He also appealed to the courts consciences, and ensures the slaves' freedom. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected
Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860. This event was a leading catalyst to the Civil War as several leading southerners had threatened to leave the Union in the event of Lincoln's election. Not to mention Lincoln was outspoken about being anti-slavery saying it should become extinct (Oakes 435).
